Posted on 12/22/2005 12:08:26 AM PST by Dan Evans
The Palestinians who took over the Jewish greenhouses in the Gaza Strip when Israel withdrew its communities from the area now are asking expelled farmers for advice after reportedly failing to reproduce the region's famous insect-free vegetables, WND has learned.
Prior to Israel's August withdrawal, the residents of Gaza's Gush Katif slate of Jewish communities ran greenhouses known for producing high-quality insect-free vegetables. The Gush Katif gardens featured some of the most technologically advanced agricultural equipment and accounted for more than $100 million per year in exports to Europe. The greenhouses also supplied Israel with 75 percent of its own produce.
The hothouses were passed to the Palestinians in September in a $14 million deal brokered by former World Bank President James Wolfenson and several wealthy Jewish Americans.
Earlier this month, the Palestinians now running the greenhouses reportedly told the Israeli-Palestinian Economic Cooperation Fund they failed in their efforts to grow bug-free produce.
Now the Palestinian owners have asked the United States Agency for International Development, which has been involved in reconstruction efforts in Gaza, to hire former Jewish Gaza greenhouse owners as consultants for their declining vegetable businesses.
Eitan Hederi, a former Gaza farmer who represented Gush Katif residents in the Wolfenson greenhouse transfer told WND, "The Palestinians are privately turning to U.S. AID to hire us because we are experts in this kind of farming. It's a really complex process that we engineered."
Anita Tucker, an expelled Gaza resident and one of the pioneer farmers of Gush Katif, told WND, "I am not at all surprised the Palestinians are failing. When they worked in our greenhouses they needed to be monitored closely. Many didn't understand certain things, like not using different kinds of chemicals. Plus when we were in Gaza, our efforts were blessed by God."
Tucker explained she and other Katif farmers engineered agricultural technology specific to the dry, sandy Gaza conditions.
"We used different kinds of netting, also aluminum, since we knew the reflection of the sun kept bugs away," she said. "We used colors because we knew certain kinds of bugs were attracted to or kept away from different colors. We used certain organic insecticides for certain plants, and were very strict about which chemicals we used. We kept our greenhouses as clean as possible. And we also had our own proprietary inventions and technology."
Asked if she would serve as a consultant for the new Palestinian owners of her former greenhouses, Tucker said, "Probably not. We see the terror coming out of Gaza, coming out of the neighborhood I used to live in, and it's just horrible. Hamas has taken over different parts of Gush Katif and are firing rockets into Israel. I am not saying the Palestinian farmers are involved, but it seems they are not doing enough to stop the terror."
Haderi, who says he already has been asked by U.S. AID to consult on greenhouse technology, said, "I am still thinking about it. It's a very difficult decision."
I love when dogma replaces common sense. Thanks for giving me a laugh.
Tell them to go pound sand.
I bet the Palistinians couldn't make the desert green ----- as the Israelis have done,----- either.
My sympathies are with the bugs.
Dear Palesimians.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened in your neighborhood. Remember that story about the biblical plagues, including the locusts?
Well, locusts is bugs. And what you have is a plague of bugs.
Because you pissed God off really bad. That's why your luck is so... so... crappy. And here's a hint:
It's not just the religious nihilism you practice, or your bloody-minded tendency to kill anything in reach, it's something else too...
It really, really, REALLY pisses God off when somebody calls him "allah".
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you.
Seems I remember reading those words somewhere.
If the Arabs hadn't happened to settle down on top of the oil they would not have any more significance than Pacific Aborigines
What an insult to Pacific Aborigines, who would come out much more significant.
When I lived in Israel back in the 70's we used a new technology called drippers. I was at a kibbutz about 30 clicks north of Eilot. We manufactured drippers and used them extensively in our fields.
The drippers were connected in series to a pumping station that mixed the water with chemicals and was pumped into the system. Each dripper was placed by each plant. This prevented evaporation and gave each plant exactly what it needed to grow in the sandy environment.
Spraying water in 110 degree weather would evaporate too fast. The dripper method was much more efficient. In adddition, we lined the fields with plastic a month before planting to kill everything living in the sand. Was a great technology for the 70's.
Why on earth would they teach their competition? Aren't they going to open up new greenhouses in Israel? In the meantime, let the euros buy their fruits and veggies with a few insect marks on them, then they'll appreciate the superior produce that Israel will export.
Give 'em this answer:
1.Obtain a wooden mallet and a flat slab of wood.
2.Place insect on flat slab.
3.Hit insect forcefully with mallet.
4.Repeat as many times as necessary to remove all insects from area.
Speaking of insects, buzz off.
LOL - "Strange, but we didn't have insects before YOU &@#%'s took over!"
LOL - we beheaded them, and still they did not grow. What are we doing wrong?
Imagine that, the parasites are mad at the insects. What's next, New Yawk politicians mad at the unions?
Might have something to do with the idiots looting the greenhouses when they took over ...
It wasn't always this way. Anyone catch the History Channel's "Battles of the Bible" last night? Joshua, Gideon and other Israelites defeated their enemies and wiped out any trace of them. Total victory, no mercy. When did the Jewish people become infected with this self-destructive sense of "compassion" that benefits only their enemies?
You are right, I take it back.
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